Over a decade has elapsed since the earlier Russian edition of the manual was published. A number of dramatic changes have taken place in surgery at large, which invariably have affected the syllabus and methods of teaching general surgery in medical schools. This manual is aimed at meeting the needs of English-speaking medical students and house officers in their preparations for practical classes and clinical training in general surgery.
The ability to use in everyday practice the knowledge both acquired during lectures and from textbooks, is of vital necessity for everyone involved in whichever health care subspecialty. To aid students to acquire this knowledge is the major aim of the manual.
Mastery of such parts of general surgery as asepsis and antisepsis; blood transfusion; haemorrhage; fundamentals of resuscitation and anaesthetics is a prerequisite for being a health care professional irrespective of the speciality.
Each of these chapters contains explanations and instructions as to what and how a physician should do in each case.
The routine methods of clinical examination of patients is one of the priorities of general surgery course. The manual highlights the general principles of clinical examination of surgical patients as well as the criteria to assess patients with surgical infection, trauma, vascular diseases or tumours.
This manual will help students acquire basic knowledge and practical skills for their everyday professional activities.
Medical knowledge is constantly changing. As new information becomes available, changes in treatment, procedures and the use of drugs become necessary. The editors, the author and the publishers have, as far as it is possible, taken care to ensure that the information given in this text is accurate and up to date. However, readers are strongly advised to confirm that the information, especially with regard to drug usage, complies with current legislation and standards of practice.